Insurance Coverage Type Impacts Hospitalization Patterns Among Patients with Hepatopancreatic Malignancies

Disparities in health and healthcare access remain a major problem in the USA. The current study sought to investigate the relationship between patient insurance status and hospital selection for surgical care.

Patients who underwent liver or pancreatic resection for cancer between 2004 and 2014 were identified in the National Inpatient Sample. The association of insurance status and hospital type was examined.

In total, 22,254 patients were included in the study. Compared with patients with private insurance, Medicaid patients were less likely to undergo surgery at urban non-teaching hospitals (OR = 0.36, 95%CI 0.22-0.59) and urban teaching hospitals (OR = 0.54, 95%CI 0.34-0.84) than rural hospitals. Medicaid patients were less likely to undergo surgery at private investor-owned hospitals (OR = 0.53, 95%CI 0.38-0.73) than private non-profit hospitals. In contrast, uninsured patients were 2.2-fold more likely to go to government-funded hospitals rather than private non-profit hospitals (OR = 2.19, 95%CI 1.76-2.71).

Insurance status was strongly associated with the type of hospital in which patients underwent surgery for liver and pancreatic cancers. Addressing the reasons for inequitable access to different hospital settings relative to insurance status is essential to ensure that all patients undergoing pancreatic or liver surgery receive high-quality surgical care.